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A Key to the Calendar: Augustus
August, like July, owes its name to the Roman Cæsars, the Emperor Augustus having followed in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor by appropriating a month to himself. Formerly called Sextilis, or the sixth month, when Julius Cæsar changed the Calendar it still continued Sextilis, and had thirty days, while February had twenty-nine, and in leap year thirty days. To gratify the vanity of Augustus, one day was taken by the obsequious Senate from February and added to August, so as to make his month equal in extent and dignity to July. In this month Cæsar Augustus took possession of his first consulate, reduced Egypt, and put an end to civil war. 1. Lammas Day should rather have been Loafmass, of which Saxon name it is a corruption. On this day the ancient Britons celebrated the gift of Ceres by offering a loaf made of new corn; this custom was adopted by the early Christians, and the first fruits were presented at the altar. In the Salisbury Missal the day is called "Benedictis novorum fructuum." 6. Transfiguration. This festival, introduced by the Greek Christians in 700, was introduced into the Roman Calendar in 1455: it commemorates the Transfiguration of Christ in the presence of the three disciples on Mount Tabor. 10. St. Lawrence suffered martyrdom in 285. He was a Spaniard, and was treasurer to Pope Sixtus II. After the martyrdom of his master he was called upon to give up the keys of his charge; refusing to do so, he was grilled over a slow fire: the saint appears rather to have liked the process, for after a while "he, in triumph, bade his executioners turn him over, for that the side downward was broiled enough." His countrymen say that it was not so much on account of religion that he bore his suffering with such fortitude as from the innate nobility of his soul; he felt that he was a Spaniard! The symbol of St. Lawrence - a gridiron-is to be found used as a vane on some of the churches dedicated to his memory. 14. St. Bartholomew is supposed to be the apostle called Nathanael, his surname being Tolmai-thus, Bar-Tolmai, the son of Tolmai. He preached the Gospel in Armenia and India, and suffered martyrdom in the former country by being flayed alive; hence he is always represented with a butcher's or currier's flayingknife. At Croyland Abbey a curious custom existed of presenting flaying-knives to all visitors on this day. This is the anniversary of the fearful massacre of
Protestants at Paris in 1572. 28. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, one of the great doctors of the Christian Church.
His writings are read with reverence at the present day alike by members of the
Greek, Roman, and Protestant communions. He was an African, and was converted from heathenism by St. Ambrose at Milan. On his return he was chosen
Bishop of Hippo, in Africa, and died, at the age of 77, in 430. St. Monica, his mother, should have had a place in the Anglican Calendar; her conduct deserves the admiration of all Christian mothers. 29. St. John the Baptist Beheaded. The birth of St. John is celebrated June 24.
The Anglo-Saxons, with more truthfulness than elegance, say that the daughter of Herodias "tomblyde" to please Herod, and so far succeeded that he promised to give anything she liked to ask. Her choice was the head of the Baptist, in revenge for his having reproved or spoken in public of her improper conduct.
SEPTEMBER.
September is so called from the Latin septem, seven, because it was the 7th month of the Roman year, which began with March, until the change of the calendar under the second King of Rome. Though September became then the 9th month, and October, November, and December, the 10th, 11th, and 12th, respectively, instead of the 8th, 9th, and 10th, the ancient designations are still retained, in spite of their total inaccuracy; an instance of conservatism enduring through ages, and still perpetuated. September is the month of harvest through large areas of the globe, and in Switzerland it is still called Herbstmonat (harvest month). Harvest moon is the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox (Sept. 21), so called because it enables farmers to prolong the day's work during the autumnal harvest. In England and northern Europe the harvest moon rises near sunset several evenings successively. The recurrence of what was called an equinoctial storm at or about the time the sun crosses the equator, has ceased to be (if in fact it ever was) a thing to be depended on. 1. St. Giles, the patron of cripples, was a native of Athens. He visited France in the year 715, where he lived a hermit's life for some time. A monastery was built on the site of his hermitage. Of this he became abbot, and died in 725. 7. St. Enurchus, while on a mission at Orleans, was selected as bishop, the attention of the people being directed to him by a dove alighting on his head. He converted 7000 infidels in three days, and foretold the time of his own death. 8. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This day was set apart in the year 695, in consequence of a concert of angels being held in the air. 14. Holy Cross Day. When the Emperor Heraclius had recovered the wood of the Holy Cross from the sacrilegious hands of Chosroes, King of Persia, he, on his return to Jerusalem, determined to convey it to Mount Calvary. Attired in his imperial robes, he in vain essayed to move the venerated relic from the ground. A voice from heaven explained the mystery. Christ Himself had entered Jerusalem lowly and meek, riding upon an ass, while the emperor, in all his pomp, had endeavored to defile the cross. He thereupon disrobed himself, and accomplished the removal without difficulty. 17. St. Lambert was Bishop of Utrecht in the time of King Pepin I., but for reproving the king's grandson for irregularities he was murdered at the instigation of an abandoned woman, A. D. 704. 21. St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, was a Jew, the son of Alpheus. His
Hebrew name was Levi. He was an officer employed to collect the hateful
Roman public taxes, hence the name publican. Too frequently the publicans were harsh and dishonest; consequently, to be a publican was to be hated by the people generally. Our Lord saw him sitting at the receipt of custom, and said, "Follow me." This was sufficient. After the Ascension, Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea, and afterward in Parthia and Ethiopia. He wrote his
Gospel in Hebrew, and this is said to have been translated into Greek by one of the other disciples. 26. St. Cyprian, Archbishop of Carthage, his native city. He appears to have been an earnest, devout believer in the Christian faith, and was one of the staunchest upholders of the rights and dignities of the episcopal office. Many of his writings are extant, and he was fortunate in having a deacon who acted as his biographer.
He was beheaded, A. D. 258, in the persecution under Decius. 29. St. Michael and all Angels. This is the only day set apart in commemoration of the angels. The theme offers great scope to the imagination of a poetic preacher, inasmuch as Scripture is all but silent respecting the hierarchy of heaven. St. Dionysius, Milton, Fletcher, and many other writers have described the different orders and the MSS. of the Middle Ages will supply every variety of sketches and finished drawings, some of which might pass for actual portraits.
Louis XI., in 1469, dubbed St. Michael a knight. 30. St. Jerome, one of the most learned and most voluminous of the early fathers, studied divinity under Gregory Nazianzen and Epiphanius, and also studied
Hebrew in Bethlehem He collected and translated the books of the Bible into
Latin, in the version known as the Vulgate, and appears to have passed a busy literary life, which, at an advanced age, he ended in peace, A. D. 420. OCTOBER.
October (Lat. octo, eight) was the 8th month of the Roman calendar, before its reformation. The splendor of October in the country, when the air is crisp and full of electric energy, and the green forests change to the gorgeous and many-colored hues of autumn, has been celebrated by many writers. The days begin to draw in apace.